Hi Peter and Everyone,

Peter wrote:
>Is this correct?  If so, what is the explanation for bald brood before
we had varroa?

I have read of the appearance of bald headed brood before varroa but have
not seen it personally before switching to small cell. All of my small
cell colonies exhibited this behavior across different races and close
inspection of both the bald headed brood, the capped brood and debris on
a trays beneath screened bottom boards indicated the phenomena was
associated with the bees removing mite infected pupa.

If I have read correctly this phenomena had been associated with wax moth
infestation. So it could be a type of cleansing or purging activity the
bees use for various types of infestations or problems.

Some posts from New Zealand indicate that bald headed brood can occur
without any obvious mite infestation.

Dennis